Where I've Been + What Was Good
A look at where I've been eating and the highlights...
• Looking into my crystal food ball, I foresee many cold nights hunched over a bowl of Toki Underground's classic ramen this winter. It was the perfect pre-show meal before my little brother's show with Dark Dark Dark at Red Palace. (Proud sister plug.)
• Lest I suffer Champagne withdrawal after drinking it from morning to night on a recent harvest trip (video evidence here), I headed to Proof for Champagne Day last Friday. Sought out a bottle of Bruno Paillard Rose (that's him in the video) and finished up with a glass of lovely Jacquesson 2000. Oh, and we ate too. Chef Haidar Karoum's veal sweetbreads with osso bucco ravioli and poached veal tongue, crispy pig's head, and spice glazed duck with sweet potato puree were standouts.
• Chicken skin (and chicken fat in general) seems to play second fiddle to the piggy stuff, which I think is quite lamentable. So Birch and Barley's Kyle Bailey was onto something when he sprinkled crispy chicken skin on top of ricotta cavatelli with housemade mozzarella. More please.
• An quick overnight trip to Frederick to celebrate a friend's birthday meant sampling as much as the town had to offer in a teeny amount of time. The eating tour kicked off with plates of Toulouse sausage and sauerkraut, plus excellent cocktails crafted by barman Alex Strange at Shab Row Bistro, followed by a tour of Dublin Roasters Coffee. Owner Serina Roy is a former cop who started roasting her own beans after being disappointed by the quality of the coffee she had to swill on the night shift. Necessity is the mother of invention, right? We fit in a few drinks and snacks at the stylish new Wine Kitchen before hitting a late reservation at Volt for an incredible tasting menu feast.
• After watching Michel Richard video chat with Jacques Pepin at a media preview for this weekend's Metro Cooking and Entertaining Show at PS 7's, I ducked into the bar for a Gina Chersevani cocktail fix. And a fix she d elivered with an Olde Fashioned made with Auchentoshan's Three Wood scotch, raspberry shrub and orange, followed by her booze-soaked "cuptails" — that's the love child of a cocktail and a cupcake. The Headless Horseman cuptail featured pumpkin walnut cake pleasantly drenched in Blanton's Bourbon and cream cheese frosting.
• Popped into Graffiato for an early pizza fix Sunday afternoon and, rounding out a pumpkin filled week, ordered the Smashing Pumpkin cocktail, a delicious concoction of lemon-pumpkin soda, Pyrat rum and allspice dram.
Looking for more ideas for good food and drink? Here's additional helpings of where I've been eating:
• Ripple, Woodberry Kitchen, Pearl Dive Oyster Palace, Soupergirl, Inn at Perry Cabin
• Bourbon Steak, Estadio, Citronelle, Hank's Oyster Bar, Full Kee, Vermilion
• Red Apron's Frank Cart, Komi, Pho 14, DC Noodles
• Casa Nonna, Birch & Barley, Rasika, Cork, Graffiato, America Eats Tavern
• Proof, Graffiato, J. Chocolatier, Kafe Leopold
• Westend Bistro, Freddy's, Estadio, Ripple, Bread Ovens at Quail Creek
• Et Voila, Bibiana, Fiola, Eve, Estadio, Pitango
• Volt, Proof, Tabard Inn, Hill Country
• Sheppard Mansion, The Source, Rasika, Taberna del Alabardero
• Jack Rose, Watershed, Standard, Pizzeria Paradiso, Luke's Lobster, Dupont Market
Looking for more ideas for good food and drink? Here's additional helpings of where I've been eating:
• Looking for more ideas for good food and drink? Here's additional helpings of where I've been eating:
• Proof, Graffiato, J. Chocolatier, Kafe Leopold
Westend Bistro, Freddy's, Estadio, Ripple, Bread Ovens at Quail Creek
Volt, Proof, Tabard Inn, Hill Country
Sheppard Mansion, The Source, Rasika, Taberna del Alabardero